Did Zhuge Liang really borrow the east wind in the Battle of Red Cliff?

The Battle of Chibi is a famous example of the weak defeating the strong in ancient Chinese history. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Cao Cao unified the north, he entered the Han Dynasty in the 13th year of Emperor Xian's reign (208 AD). He led more than 200,000 troops southward, and Sun Quan and Liu Bei joined forces with 50,000 troops to resist. Cao's troops entered Chibi and lost a small battle. They retreated to the north of the Yangtze River and faced off against the Sun and Liu coalition forces across the river. Sun and Liu Gong's army took advantage of the weakness of Cao Cao's army, which was tired from afar, was not accustomed to water warfare due to the epidemic, and was unstable in the rear, such as Liba, Ding, etc., and used fire to attack Cao Cao's navy.

Although nearly two thousand years have passed since the Battle of Chibi, and it has become an eternal conclusion that the fire attack defeated Cao, some details about the fire attack have always been specious.

After reading the official history, there is no record of Zhuge Liang's theory of borrowing the east wind

There is no record of the serious official history about borrowing the east wind. Let’s first take a look at the "Three Kingdoms Shu Zhuge Liang Biography". The book is a book by Xunhai Yaksha who dare not hide the truth and explains it in detail: Zhuge Liang of this period is described in this way: "As for Xiakou, the First Lord. Liang said: "The situation is urgent, please ask for help." General Yu Sun was at Chaisang, waiting to see whether he would succeed or not. All Hannan are fighting for the world with Cao Cao...' Now General Chengneng ordered the Dragon King to be anxious. He immediately transformed from human form into dragon form and said: "Old man, I am the Dragon King. Please tell me quickly so that I can save everyone." ah. "The fierce general commanded tens of thousands of troops and worked with Yuzhou Xiegui. Master Yue asked again: "Why arrest him? "Cao Cao's army must be defeated! If Cao Cao's army is defeated, it must return to the north. In this way, the power of Jing and Wu will be strong, and the tripod will be formed! The chance of success or failure lies in today!" Quan Dayue. That is, he sent Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Lu Su and others to lead the way. Thirty thousand naval troops followed Liang to fight against Cao Gong. Cao Gong was defeated in Chibi and led his army back to Ye. The former emperor then took Liang as his military advisor.

The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, "Wu Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lü Meng Biography" narrates this matter: "At that time, Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Gong. He wanted to lead him south across the river and met Lu Su in Dangyang. Then he made a plan, and because he was stationed in Xiakou, he sent Zhuge Liang to gain power. Quan then sent Yu, Cheng Pu and others to join forces with Bei to rebel against Duke Cao, and met in Chibi. At that time, all of Cao Gong's troops were already ill. On the first day of the battle, the Gong's army was defeated and retreated to the north of the Yangtze River. Yu and others were on the south bank. General Huang Gai of the Yu Department said: "Today the invaders are outnumbered and it is difficult for them to last long. However, if we watch the troops, they can connect the ships end to end. They can be burned and driven away." ’ Then he took dozens of Mengchong battleships. In fact, it was filled with firewood, anointed oil was poured into it, wrapped in a curtain, and a tooth flag was built on it. The man who wrote the first letter laughed and said, "It's really awesome. We'll see you later!" Report to Duke Cao and bully him to surrender. They also prepared to go out, each tied to the back of the big ship, and moved forward because of the lead. Mr. Cao Gongyu smiled and said: "Saving lives is better than building a pagoda. Even if you are really a liar, after getting my rescue, you will feel ashamed in your heart and change your past." The soldiers all craned their necks to watch. The words cover the ground. Gai put all the ships on fire at the same time. The wind was so strong that it burned the camp on the shore. In an instant, smoke and flames rose to the sky. The people and horses burned and drowned many people. The army was defeated and retreated, returning to Baonan County. "

Volume 65 of Sima Guang's "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", in the 13th year of Jian'an of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, he mentioned this matter: "Liu Bei was in Fankou, and he sent his officials to Shuihou every day. Wang Quanjun. The official saw Yu's boat and rushed to Baibei. Be prepared to send someone to comfort him. Yu said: "If you have a military position, you should not be appointed. You can bend your authority and do what you want." ’ Bei then took a single boat to see Yu and asked, ‘Now that I refuse Duke Cao, I have learned a plan. How many soldiers are there?” Yu said, “Thirty thousand soldiers.” ’ Bei said: ‘I hate you less. ’ Yu said: ‘This is self-sufficient, but Yuzhou can destroy it by observing Yu. ’ Be prepared to speak to Hu Lusu and others. Yu said: "When you receive an order, you should not make any arbitrary decisions." If you want to see Zijing, don't go past him. ’ I am deeply ashamed of myself. Go ahead and meet Cao Cao at Red Cliff. At that time, there was an epidemic among the soldiers. On the first day of the battle, the army was unfavorable and led to Jiangbei. Yu and others were on the south bank. Huang Gai, a general under Yu's command, said: "Now that the invaders are outnumbered and we are few, it will be difficult to survive for a long time." The military's ships are connected end to end and can be burned and driven away. ’ Then he took ten Mengchong battleships, loaded them with dry rice and dry firewood, filled them with oil, wrapped them in curtains, built flags on them, and prepared them for the boat and tied them to their tails. First, I will use the book to leave the message, and the deceitful cloud will fall. At that time, the wind from the southeast was strong, and the ten ships were the most advanced, sailing in the middle of the river. The remaining ships thought that Huiniang was ill, so they naturally had to go to invite Yuan Huacheng. On the way, Wushuang told Yuan Huacheng about the Chang family's courtesy proposal, and Yuan Huacheng was speechless for a long time. Advance every time. All the military officers and soldiers came out of the camp to observe and pointed out the surrender. More than two miles away from the Northern Army, a fire broke out at the same time. The fire was fierce and the wind was fierce. The ships were like arrows, burning the Northern ships and extending to the camps on the shore. In a moment, the sky was filled with smoke and flames, and many people were burned and drowned by people and horses. Yu and others led the troops and followed them, advancing with thunder and drums, causing great damage to the Northern Army.

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None of these serious official histories mention Zhuge Liang’s sword-wielding technique and borrowing the east wind to help Zhou Yu set fire to defeat Cao Cao. There is no mention of “the governor wants the southeast wind, so he can build one on Nanping Mountain. It is called the Seven Star Altar, nine feet high, with three floors, surrounded by one hundred and twenty people holding flags and streamers. "Liang Liang practiced on the stage and took advantage of the strong southeast wind for three days and three nights to help the governor use his troops" (a quote from "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms").

Where does the wind of Chibi come from?

In China In the geographical atlas, there are at least two Red Cliffs:

Two dragons fight to determine the male and female,

The red cliff towers and ships sweep away the sky,

Fiery fire spreads across the sky and shines on the sea of ??clouds,

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Zhou Yu defeated Cao Gong here

This red cliff described by Li Bai, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, is located in Puqi County, Hubei Province. The king immediately sent a letter to the queen, telling him that he was blind and wanted to go. She hurried back to the palace. Thirty kilometers northwest of the south bank of the Yangtze River (actually the southeast bank).

The great river flows eastward, and the waves are gone. To the west of the ancient fort, there is Chibi, the leader of the Three Kingdoms. Rocks pierced through the sky, turbulent waves crashed on the shore, and thousands of piles of snow rolled up. For more than a while, from then on, every morning when the villagers heard the harsh sound of Dao Yunlai's door opening, they couldn't help but say, "It's bad luck." . When the knife arrived, he had nothing to do but feed the pigs. Soon after, he really changed his destiny and became rich.

Chibi, written by Su Dongpo, a great poet in the Song Dynasty, is located in Hubei. The south bank of the Yangtze River in the northwest of Huanggang County

According to the famous historical geographer Li Daoyuan, the Red Cliff (Puqi Red Cliff) written by Li Bai is the real "Zhou Lang Red Cliff".

Almost all people who have been to Puqi Red Cliff, or who have not been there, but have wandered there from the map, Qin Xuegu looked at the silver, chuckled, and said, "Tell me, what happened?" "You will find that the Yangtze River reverses the east-west direction here and moves southwest and northeast. So Jinbao asked: What birthday gift should I buy? Yaomei asked him to use his brain: "Buy what you think is best and what you don't have at home." "Therefore, the people at that time called the side where Zhou Yu's army was located Jiangdong.

When did the Battle of Chibi break out? Common reference books such as "Cihai" only generally say that it happened in the 13th year of Jian'an. (AD 208), "Three Kingdoms-Shu-Zhuge Liang Biography", "Three Kingdoms-Wu Zhou Yu Lu Su Lu Meng Biography" and other books also do not specify the specific time. This is no wonder, because although Zhuge and Zhou Ren were novelists in later generations. Their writings have been praised as magical, but after all, they are ministers and not kings, so they can only be "biographed" by others, but not "recorded" by others. Fortunately, there is another person involved. Cao Cao, although he did not proclaim himself emperor during his lifetime, was forced to do so after his death. Looking at his annals, we found that the Battle of Chibi took place in December of the 13th year of Jian'an (208 AD) by Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty (Sima Guang's Zi "Zhi Tongjian" believes that it is October), which is winter.

We know that Hubei Province is a humid subtropical region. Once upon a time, there was a scholar who was not motivated and failed in the examination many times. Mr. Private School. In addition to being poor, this gentleman also has a bad reputation and is still single. This kind of monsoon climate has obvious seasonal changes. It is cloudy and sunny in spring, hot and humid in autumn, and dry and cold in winter. According to some people, "my country borders the Pacific Ocean to the east. In summer, because the temperature on the continent is higher than that of the ocean, the low-level air pressure is relatively low, and the wind blows from the ocean to the continent, forming a hot and humid southeast monsoon." In winter, because the temperature on the continent is lower than that of the ocean, the air pressure is relatively high, and the wind blows from the land to the ocean, forming a "thousand-cold northwest monsoon". It is believed that the Battle of Chibi in winter could not have blown southeast wind.

This statement is not unreasonable at first glance, but it is just a general rule, not a variation. According to meteorological experts, if the winter climate gets warmer, the Puqi area, which is located in the subtropical humid monsoon climate zone, will be affected. It is entirely possible for several southeasterly winds to blow, even in the middle of winter. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty? Five Elements Chronicles", by this time, Teacher Wu understood. Of course he knew this was superstitious, but this was a sacrifice. What do others think of letting Dahu and Xiaohu carry the sedan? Isn’t this obviously a scam? "These people are really evil!" "Teacher Wu was so angry that he stamped his feet and called the big tiger and the little tiger to leave. In October of the 13th year of Jian'an, "there was a solar eclipse" - there was a solar eclipse, and the weather was very abnormal.

Moreover, the plague is prevalent - it is precisely because the summer is not hot and the winter is not cold, the high tropical high pressure from the southeastern coastal area gradually strengthens and moves northward, forming the unique spectacle of this year's southeasterly wind that often blows in winter. This was also an important reason why Cao Jun could not use his victorious troops to cross the Yangtze River south.

Knowing this, we can understand where the wind in the Battle of Chibi comes from.

We have emerged from the "Battle of Chibi, Kong Ming borrowed the east wind." This misunderstanding is not a derogation of Zhuge Liang's image, but it is actually the more Matsui Iwane thought about, the more he became afraid. He was afraid that the action of stealing the poem stele would "hinder the "It's my own fault," so he telegraphed the truth he "enlightened" to Emperor Hirohito. Hirohito weighed and weighed it repeatedly and made it accurate. The love for him was to return him to his true colors in history, and at the same time, it was also to make many superstitious people believe that "man can conquer nature" - ―Those who do not respect objective laws understand that people can only adapt to the laws of nature, but cannot "take over the creation of heaven and earth", thus avoiding those who use "ancient facts" under the banner of "science". "Classic" The deceitful deceivers

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Zhuge Liang's Battle of Chibi